The Adroit Journal

Need more time to submit to the Adroit Prizes? We’ve extended the deadline to Tuesday, May 12, giving you (high school and undergrad writers) an extra week and a half to send in your best poetry and prose. Submit at the link in our bio!

We’re back with another Community Spotlight to celebrate our staff, contributors, and Mentorship grads on some of their recent accomplishments! 🎉

A whiz kid faces facts and felt truths in Adesuwa Agbonile’s kinetic short story “Brain Kid,” which earned her a 2026 Veasna So Scholarship! Read it in full, along with the rest of Issue Fifty-Seven, at the link in our bio.

“There is, then, the sudden air of grief.”

Swipe to read Kwame Dawes’s poem “Blemish” from Issue Fifty-Seven, and visit the link in our bio for more.

Issue Fifty-Seven has sprung! 🌸 Visit the link in our bio to explore work by our 2026 Djanikian and Veasna So Scholars—twelve exciting emerging poets and fiction writers we should all be watching—alongside plenty more poetry, prose, interviews, and art. Special thanks to our cover artist, Ziqian Liu! 📸

We’re happy to welcome the Adroit Mentorship Program’s 2026 cohort into the fold! These students will spend the summer writing poetry, fiction, and creative nonfiction under the stewardship of award-winning mentors, building tools and relationships that will usher them into the next stage of their writing journeys. See the full announcement at the link in our bio. 📚📝

Issue Fifty-Seven of The Adroit Journal goes live next week, featuring work by our 2026 Djanikian and Veasna So Scholars! Join us via Zoom at 8 pm EST this coming Tuesday (4/21) and Wednesday (4/23) for back-to-back readings with Scholars and contributors. RSVP at the link in our bio.

In honor of National Poetry Month, everything in our merch store is 20% off through the end of April! Treat yourself to a dad hat and a leather journal (an Adroit journal, if you will), and stock up on limited-edition totes and posters featuring Eric Price’s Issue Forty-Seven cover painting, “Divine Play.” Shop at the link in our bio and use the code POETRYAPRIL at checkout.

In honor of National Poetry Month, everything in our merch store is 20% off through the end of April! Treat yourself to a dad hat and a leather journal (an Adroit journal, if you will), and stock up on limited-edition totes and posters featuring Eric Price’s Issue Forty-Seven cover painting, “Divine Play.” Shop away at the link in our bio!

We’re proud to announce the ninth class of Gregory Djanikian Scholars in Poetry and the fourth class of Anthony Veasna So Scholars in Fiction—twelve exciting emerging poets and fiction writers we should all be watching. Congratulations, Scholars!

All emerging poets and fiction writers who have not published full-length collections or novels were eligible for submission—regardless of age, geographic location, and educational status. Selected from a competitive pool of more than 1,400 international applicants, Djanikian and Veasna So Scholars receive stipends and publication.

Swipe through the see the full list of 2026 Scholars, and visit the link in our bio to see the finalists and semifinalists. 📚

Calling all high school and college writers! The 2026 Adroit Prizes for Poetry & Prose are open for submissions through May 1, judged by the brilliant Leila Chatti (for poetry) and Karissa Chen (for prose).

All secondary and undergraduate students are eligible, including international students and students who have graduated a semester early (in this case, December 2025). Visit the link in our bio for submission guidelines. We look forward to reading your work!

Leila Chatti 📸 by Jim Gipe/Pivot Media
Karissa Chen 📸 by Ernie Chen